Athletic Training Students Win Scholarships Honoring Razorback Legends

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Recipients of the Bill Ferrell Endowed Scholarship in Athletic Training are, from left, Kristina Miller, Koji Kanemura, Caitlin Gallion, Lauren Salas and Denise Wick. Wick also won the Dean Weber Endowed Scholarship in Athletic Training.

Five University of Arkansas students in the graduate athletic training education program were named winners of scholarships honoring legendary Razorback athletic trainers Bill Ferrell and Dean Weber. The students will be honored at a pre-game brunch Saturday.

Caitlin Gallion, Koji Kanemura, Kristina Miller, Lauren Salas and Denise Wick are enrolled in the Master of Athletic Training degree program in the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas.

They are the 2013 recipients of the Bill Ferrell Endowed Scholarship in Athletic Training. Wick also won the Dean Weber Endowed Scholarship in Athletic Training presented to the top student in the athletic training education program.

Former University of Arkansas football players who played under the care of Weber and Ferrell established the scholarships. Weber supervised the athletic training operations for men's sports teams for 35 years and now oversees equipment operations for all 19 Razorback teams. Ferrell was head baseball coach and head athletic trainer from 1950 to 1967. He died in 1967.

All five of the student recipients are in the second year of the program and plan to graduate next spring. The master's degree will prepare them to work in all kinds of sports and at all levels of competition as well as in clinical settings.

Gallion, of Auburn, Wash., graduated from Auburn Mountainview High School and earned a bachelor's degree in physical education with concentrations in pre-physical therapy and pre-athletic training from Pacific Lutheran University. She is the daughter of Pam and Kal Gallion of Auburn.

Kanemura, of Fukuoka, Japan, graduated from Kokura High School in Fukuoka and earned a bachelor's degree in sport sciences from Waseda University in Tokyo. He is the son of Terumi and Yoshimizu Kanemura.

Miller, of Kirkland, Wash., graduated from Inglemoor High School in Kenmore, Wash., and earned a bachelor's degree in kinesiology from Western Washington University. She is the daughter of Sandy and Ron Miller.

Salas, of Mesa, Ariz., graduated from Red Mountain High School in Mesa and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Nevada, Reno. She is the daughter of Becky and Kenneth Salas.

Wick, of Stilwell, Okla., graduated from Stillwell High School and earned a bachelor's degree in kinesiology-applied exercise science from the University of Arkansas. She is the daughter of Heidy and Norbert Wick.

Each student is doing a clinical rotation with a sports team this semester: Gallion, Rogers High School; Kanemura, Fayetteville High School; Miller, Arkansas women's soccer; Salas, Arkansas swimming and diving; Wick, Rogers Heritage High School.